Excellent read

I first read this book back in 2003 but due to having nothing new to read I am half way through it again. It is an excellent little book and can be completed in a few nights avid reading, although due to the strange Greek names others may want to take longer to digest the Gods/Family history a little more. The book starts out setting the scene telling of how the Gods and the Humans came to be, then moves on to the more fun stories and myths.<br /><br />Because of it's shortness it is only really a grounding for books of this eara but as a positive the myth's in this form can easily be adapted to be read to children. The best thing about the book is that it is told in a story style rather than a Historical Fact style like so many are which makes it a much more pleasant read.<br /><br />This is the first Greek setting book I read which got me hooked, has since led me down the Historical fiction route of Pressfield and his much more realistic and gruesome novels.<br /><br />If you want to quickly get upto speed on who's who in the Gods and some of the characters spoken about in other more detailed novels then this book is the perfect starting point.

modern retelling of myths

I bought this for a grandchild and of course I read it before giving it to her. It's just so much better, more appealing, more interesting than any of the mythology books I read when I was young. (and I read every mythology book in the library) Why weren't there books like this around when I was ten? Buy it - you'll love it.

great mythologist!

Myth and dream, tragedy and comedy, the Hero and the God, all analysed in an inspiring book. Jungian approach of myth by a genius mythologist, Joseph Campbell.

almost definitive

For a book of this quality, it's a shame (a very little shame) that the first search for references to Acteon failed. But everything else worked out.

Interesting

I'm extremely happy with this purchase.it arrived on time and well packed.And it has been a pleasure to read.

Bought this for my Mother-in-Law

My mother-in-law, who went to Cambridge, as did the author of this book I believe, asked me to get this for her birthday. As background, she is the local historian in her village, has written three books herself with an historical, factual background. She absolutely loved this book and was completely captivated by it. I realise this is not my own personal review but felt that as it was such a completely successful present for someone who has quite high standards I thought it worth submitting!!

Refresher course

I bought this in order to be ahead of the game when my grandchildren show an interest in the Greek Myths.The illustrations are charming and quite quirky, and the myths are beautifully told.The added bonus is that I now stand a chance of finishing the crossword puzzle in the weekend papers, those Greeks account for more than their share of clues.

Absence of Mind

In reading this slim volume of four lectures, I wanted, as an atheist, to see what powerful arguments this award-winning author would bring to bear against the modern movement to use a scientific approach to refute religion. I was somewhat disappointed by the limited scope of her attack on say, Dawkins or Pinker. Behind the grammatically perfect but convoluted sentences, peppered with"hermeneuticization" and"autochthonous", her thesis seems to be that the"objectivity" of science is sterile and rigid in its denial of the aspects of the human mind that one might wish to label"the soul". Also, the very objectivity or"correctness" of science is itself open to question, since e.g. the world of physics is continually challenged and changed.<br /><br />I agree with her reservations over the wave of"parascientific literature", which I take to be"pop psychology" which increasingly tells us what to think and replaces religion for some people, even affects the world of work, through"management training" and"performance management".<br /><br />One of the most interesting sections for me is the presentation of Freud as a man whose theories may well have been in a part a reaction to the persecuted status of the Jews in Europe. I do not know what support this theory might find with experts.<br /><br />Her choice of thinkers on whom to focus - Freud, Darwin, Comte, William James, Dawkins, Dennett, etc. assumes a good level of prior knowledge. In a lecture this may be fair enough. Yet I feel that the book falls between two stools. To make a mark with lay readers, there is a need for more explanation of philosophical ideas. For those already familiar with the ideas cited, her message seems rather slight.<br /><br /><br />I was left wanting to find out more about philosophy but my response to the author's argument was to say,"Yes, but just because some scientists may be wrong doesn't make right the kind of woolly spirituality one finds in the characters in her novels." She does not address the point that one may choose to be an atheist, because one's observations and experience make it impossible to be otherwise, without losing sight of the"beauty and strangeness of life".<br />

A leopard can't change his spots

Whooee this book is a lot more fun than I remember. I purchased the"AESOP'S FABLES: A NEW TRANSLATION (UPDATED w/LINKED TOC)" for the kindle. However, I have not figured out how to make it work yet. Just a note each Fable is preceded by a hand drawn pictograph of the tale.<br /><br />There is a great introduction by G.K. Chesterton, which is worth the purchase in its self. He compares and contrasts fables and fairy tales both in theory and detail. Then he compares and contrasts Uncle Remus and the Brothers Grim to Aesop. When you are finished, you have an insight or a different view of fables in general.<br /><br />Then you hit the deck running."The fox and the grapes"etc. Well this is where I am a little disappointed as the fables are saying the same thing but the wording is different. I am just too used to the old way and this seems a little two mellow.<br /><br />There are very few fables that I did not hear and I did not realize there were so many different versions of"The Slave and the Lion". Most of my fable history came from a part of the"Rocky and Bullwinkle"show,"Aesop and Son" <br /><br />In any event, no library or culturally literate person is complete without these fables.<br />

Absolutely superb

Just gave a copy of this to my daughter for her birthday and sh loved it. The pop up creations jump out of the page at you, some of them creating scenes that are twice the size of the book. The most amazing for me is the fairy whose wings flap as the page is opened.<br /><br />Children seem to be careful with these books as they exude a"something special" charm.

Greek Mythology turned into fun!

It was soincredibly interesting and fun. not only did I enjoy reading the hella cool stories, i learned that Greek mythology does affect our language today. i learned how alot of things now, came from what we learn in mythology. the stories are so entertaining and fun toread, Sime are sad, some are happy but all of them kept me flipin' pages. I'm happy I read this book because it gave me knowledge about history and it made me know cool stories and I liked Disneys Hercules alot more. I felt smarter watching it. it a great book, props to the auther who wrote it in a non boring way. Thanks!

My View

I really enjoy the insight Anton delivers to the reader through the SB. <br /><br />Here are a couple of comments of what else I feel. <br /><br />The terms:"great-person approach, historical development approach, and Zeitgeist" apply to Anton Lavey. An Introduction to the History of Psychology by: B. R. Hergenhahn talks about these terms, and goes on to state:"New ideas are always judged within the context of existing ideas" (pg 4, sixth ed). Anton Lavey gave a new form of philosophy that others failed to do. <br /><br />Vladimir Lenin once said,"A lie told often enough becomes the truth." When a Christian states that non-Christian's are being deceived by the devil, what they do not know is that the story of Jesus was told many times before the man Emanuel was even born. For example Horus, an Egyptian God, and Jesus, stories are almost word for word. However, when the Christians stole the tale they changed numbers, and some words to make it look as if it was original.<br /><br />But what repulses me is when people criticize Anton lavey, then take it upon themselves and use Anton's ideas, books, and name to draw attention to themselves through YouTube, and other Internet websites. <br /><br />One last thing, people say that the book only tells individuals to live a selfish life. Open your eyes, every Religion including Christians are selfish and greedy. Look at the pope or other leaders of a church, and see how they are surrounded with gold, chalices, crosses and other religious objects while the children around the world are starving.

My Harry Potter reading stops here.

After the happy endings of the first 3 this one was an utter disappointment. I adore the characters and all the quirks, jokes and pacing is superb. All that only went to emphasised what a cheat this book was for me. I feel thoroughly let down! There couldn't be a more downbeat and depressing ending. Boo! Hiss! The last action scenes are harrowing with no relief whatsoever. Harry lives on yet again but that was NOT enough. No way.<br /><br />I felt the first 3 books in the Harry Potter series are clearly 'cross-over' books, enjoyable for adults but written primarily for children (9-11yrs). With The Goblet of Fire there is a blaytant shift toward wanting to satisfying adult readers foremost. I think after the 3rd book must have been the point where Harry Potter really hit it big?<br /><br />I do not like my reading this dark and certainly do not appreciate reading such misery for there to be no happy outcome. A total surprise after the first 3. I feel misled. Cheated. I would be very uncomfortable for my young children to read this book, which is more a Tolkein readalike than a Nesbit one.

Pretty good

I think this is a better version of these ancient legends than is the companion Orchard Book of Greek Myths, though the writer and illustrator remain the same. The text here is fuller and less summarized. The ills, though improved on Greek Myths, still for me have a patronising hint to them, as if to suggest that young children today have to everything spelled out to them so they don't get bored or misunderstand. The ills are neither in ancient mode nor modern, but inhabit a bit of an uneasy, jokey limbo between the two styles. <br /><br />Still - the stories themselves still speak to us loud and clear, and here they are, bold and colourful.

Excellent reading

I bought this for my son but have also enjoyed listening to it myself.<br />The reader has a good reading voice (nothing like Julian Clary as another reviewer has suggested) and also does pronounce the names correctly - he uses the now generally accepted Heracles rather than Hercules and this has confused some people.

a lovely tale very well told

This book is delightfully illustrated and lovingly told. it can be read as scary or as soothing as you choose. The beautiful illustrations show life in an Indian village, without any direct reference in the text. There is so much more to talk about than the story.

I've come to Amazon to find out what other books there are in the series, because me and my two little girls (aged 2 and 4) want to read more and more of these and learn how different cultures view things that are common and everyday.

Buy this book.

Humpty Dumpty was a weapon of mass destruction

This is one of two rival British publications about the origins of nursery rhymes that appeared in 2008. I bought this one first, then realized that it would make sense to buy the other, Hey diddle diddle, and compare them. The immediate difference is in the price, this one being the more expensive but covering many more rhymes and doing so in more detail. However, there are some things in Hey diddle diddle that the author of this book missed out.<br /><br />In this book, the author sometimes failed to establish clearly the origins of some of them, offering conflicting theories and suggesting the one that is likeliest to be true. However, he has no doubt that Humpty Dumpty was originally a cannon that sat in a church tower during the English Civil War. The cannon was very effective at protecting the royalist stronghold of Colchester until one day when the republicans managed to bring down the entire church tower. So Humpty Dumpty had a great fall and all the king's horses and all the king's men couldn't put Humpty together again. The question of the origin of the name is not answered, nor even asked in this book, but the author explains why Humpty Dumpty is now portrayed as an egg; this was the way he was portrayed in Alice through the looking glass, and the image has stuck. The rival publication Hey diddle diddle suggests that Humpty Dumpty was originally a name given to an obese person.<br /><br />Elsewhere in the book, the author has unearthed plenty of old rhymes and attempts to explain their origins. The text for each rhyme is given in full, which is just as well because I don't recognize a lot of them and even those that I do recognize contain verses that I don`t remember. While most of them are indeed nursery rhymes, I'm not sure if all of them are; Red sky at night (a farming rhyme not included in the rival book) is certainly old, but is it really a nursery rhyme?<br /><br />One rhyme that is of uncertain origin is Hey diddle diddle! This piece of apparent nonsense could have been about the circumstances surrounding the accession of Richard III to the English throne in 1485, while another theory is based on Elizabeth I and her courtiers, but the author prefers a third theory, that it was written as an educational rhyme to help teach children astronomy. A theory not discussed in this book, but in the rival book that uses this rhyme as its title , suggests that the rhyme may be based on a pub crawl and points to the names of public houses, all of which existed in the eighteenth century, along a road between Macclesfield and Buxton in England.<br /><br />I'd heard, long before this book was published, that disease (perhaps the Black Plague of the 1340`s) inspired Ring-a-ring o' roses. After explaining why this would seem plausible, the author systematically takes apart that theory. Apparently, the rhyme was first published in Britain in 1881 and made no mention of sneezing. The text was changed a few times before the version we are all familiar with became standard. The rival book doesn't mention the publication date or the published text; the author apparently happy to accept conventional wisdom that the rhyme is about a plague.<br /><br />One rhyme that I don't recall but may have heard during my childhood is The lion and the unicorn, not covered in the rival book, which is apparently about England (the lion) fighting Scotland (the unicorn) at Culloden in 1745. Another rhyme that originated in Anglo-Scottish rivalry is There was a crooked man, which is set in the 1640's during the reign of Charles I. Ultimately, the Scots and the English all lived together in their little crooked house (Britain), though it has always been a somewhat uneasy relationship.<br /><br />Some of the famous rhymes have more verses than most people are familiar with. There are actually five verses to Little Bo Peep, but I wonder how many people remember the entire rhyme? This particular rhyme apparently has its origins in smuggling, with Little Bo Peep being the customs officers, the sheep being the smugglers and the tails being the contraband. Both books agree on this one. Several locations in St Leonard's (on the Sussex coast near Hastings) carry the Bo Peep name.<br /><br />While some of these rhymes were inspired by royalty, |playing cards actually inspired The queen of hearts, not covered in the rival book, which is the one rhyme you would assume to be about royalty. Among the other rhymes included here, you'll find Baa baa black sheep, Bobby Shafto, Ding dong bell, Georgie Porgie, Goosie goosie gander, Grand old Duke of York, Here we go round the mulberry bush, Hickory dickory dock, Hot cross buns, House that Jack built, Jack and Jill, Jack be nimble, Jack Sprat, Ladybird ladybird, Little Bo Peep, Little Boy Blue, Little Jack Horner, Little Miss Muffett, Little Polly Flinders, Little Tommy Tucker, London Bridge is falling down, London's burning, Lucy Lockett, Mary had a little lamb, Mary Mary quite contrary, Monday's child, Old King Cole, Old Mother Hubbard, Oranges and lemons, Owl and the pussycat, Polly put the kettle on, Pop goes the weasel, Pussy cat pussy cat, Rain rain go away, Remember remember the fifth of November, Ride a cock horse to Banbury Cross, Rock a bye baby, Rub a dub dub, See saw Margery Daw, Simple Simon, Sing a song of sixpence, Solomon Grundy, There was a little girl, There was an old woman who lived in a shoe, Three blind mice, Tom Tom the piper's son, Twinkle twinkle little star,0 Wee Willie Winkie and some others that I haven't mentioned.<br /><br />Although not included here, the rival book Hey diddle diddle includes Hark hark the dogs do bark, A wise old owl, Christmas is coming and Doctor Foster. If you want to know the origins of those four poems, you'll need that book; however, if you only want to buy one book, remember that this one contains far more rhymes overall.<br /><br />Towards the end of the book, the author stretches the boundaries of the book further by including eleven traditional songs and anthems (Amazing grace, God save the queen, Good King Wenceslas, The hokey cokey, I saw three ships, Jerusalem, The miller of Dee, Skye boat song, Star spangled banner, Swing low sweet chariot, Yankee doodle dandy). Of course, I love this section even though it's not strictly within the scope of the book, but I wish the author had left them out and saved them for a whole book about the origins of traditional songs. Given that he only selected eleven, The miller of Dee (a song I don't remember hearing) seems out of place in the company of the other, much better known songs.<br /><br />This is a fascinating book and, unless you know the origins of the rhymes already (and I`ve spoiled it for you in some cases), there are very few of them that you are likely to correctly guess. Meanwhile, the true origins give you little glimpses into British history in a much more entertaining way than your average history book could ever do. It's not quite all British (there's at least one American rhyme here - There was a little girl), while the French are also represented, but it is mostly British. Nevertheless, if you're familiar with some of these rhymes, or even if you're interested in the history of the British royal family (the inspiration for so many rhymes), you'll find plenty to amuse you here. If you only want one book, this is worth the extra cost compared to Hey diddle diddle .

Don't myth it...

'Mythology for Dummies' is part of the widely-read 'Dummies' series, and lives up to most of the expectations one might have of a volume in that series. It has the requisite cartoons, the various side-bar items throughout the text, and the the top-ten lists at the end - in this case, the Top Ten Places (which includes Vahalla, Elysium, Atlantis, even Brigadoon) and the Top Ten Monsters (Gorgons, Unicorns, the Sphinx, dragons, etc.).

This is a volume of mythology is not just classical Greek and Roman mythology (that which most people think of when they think of mythology). It does include these in good measure, but also goes further afield to include an overview of the main characters, stories and ideas of mythological constructs in cultures all over the world. These include some that are familiar and related to the Greco-Roman traditions - Egypt, ancient Mesopotamia, Celtic and Nordic mythologies. There are also those that are quite removed from this collection of pantheons - the Indian, Chinese, Japanese, and Native American traditions of mythology are also included here.

The first section gives a brief overview of what mythology is and isn't. It doesn't go too deeply into the debate over religion (after all, one person's mythology might be another person's religion). It does give some insight into the purpose of such stories for the cultures that maintained them, and how we have come to regard such tales in more modern times. Mythology is not just about gods, goddesses and monsters, after all. Often there is a very strong human component in the myths, which can serve for ethical and moral instruction as well as inspiration. These are written in the witty style typical of the series - 'How to spot a myth a mile away' is one section title. Mythology is also shown to be not something exclusively of the ancient world - American myths such as Johnny Appleseed and Br'er Rabbit are highlighted as examples.

Some of the stories included here fall more under the category of 'legend' than 'mythology' in popular definition - the stories of King Arthur, for example, do fall under the category of mythology, although it is rarely assigned such categorisation for a host of reasons. However, the Arthurian legends are contained here (one section is entitled 'Sex, Lies, and Good Jousting'). The text also ventures into the delicate area of the parallels between ancient Mesopotamian legends and early Biblical stories - tales such as the Tower of Babel and the Great Flood bear striking similarity to many extra-canonical tales in the ancient region.

The prose is good and accessible, like most of the Dummies books. There are some graphics and line-art drawings, and the chapters are short enough for the typical reader to finish easily in one sitting. This is a fun way to learn the old stories, and relate them to modern times. I would recommend this book for adults with a general interest, and also for undergraduate students and even high school students who want a survey of the material.